Class at Well Bath
Top of the World Singers
Everyone is welcome, no matter what your voice does
Voices fill the room. Some sure, some hesitant, all held. Joanna leads and the room follows. Top of the World Singers is a community singing group led by Joanna Harvey at Well Bath. Open to every voice in the room. If you can talk, you can be part of the room.
The repertoire is drawn from folk, world music, and simple harmony traditions. Joanna teaches by ear, layers the voices as the group learns, and holds the container while people find their sound.
Sessions run in blocks so the group can build on what came before. Joanna welcomes complete beginners, people who were told at school they could not sing, people who sing in the shower and would like to sing somewhere else. Everyone gets carried along.
Duration
90 minutes
Price
See the booking page for current pricing.
What people bring
Presentations commonly worked with
Group singing is a container for the whole nervous system as much as it is a musical activity. What people arrive with is often less a wish to sing well and more a wish to be part of a room.
- A stretch of feeling isolated or unheard
- A working life spent on screens where the voice is rarely used
- Low mood, or the flatness that follows a hard stretch
- Being told, at some point in childhood, that you could not sing
- Wanting community without a performance layer
- A wish to breathe differently — singing exercises the breath in ways yoga does not
- Curiosity about harmony singing without a formal choir
This is community singing, not a vocal training programme. If you are working on your voice professionally, look for one-to-one voice work; the group is for people who want to sing together for its own sake.
What a session is like
From arrival to the last breath in the room
The session runs ninety minutes. This is the shape of it.
- 01
Arrival
Front door, tea from the Welsh dresser, into the studio. Chairs set in a rough circle. Joanna greets everyone as they come in.
- 02
Warm-up
Ten to fifteen minutes of vocal warm-up — breath work, simple scales, gentle release for the jaw and shoulders. Nothing intimidating.
- 03
Teaching by ear
Joanna teaches the song a line at a time. No sheet music. She sings, the room sings back. The song builds this way, phrase by phrase.
- 04
Layering the parts
Once the melody is in the room, Joanna splits the group into parts — sopranos, altos, tenors, basses — as the song allows. Everyone finds their line and the harmony arrives.
- 05
Singing full through
The room sings the whole song together. Sometimes twice. This is often the piece where people forget they were nervous.
- 06
Closing round
A last shared song or two, a note on the next session, tea and conversation for anyone who wants to stay.
Weighing it up
Top of the World Singers versus Kirtan
Both are group singing at Well Bath. They meet different needs.
| Top of the World Singers | Kirtan | |
|---|---|---|
| Repertoire | Folk, world music, simple harmony traditions. | Sanskrit mantras from the devotional tradition. |
| Register | Community singing — social, warm, choir-adjacent. | Devotional — a wall of sound held for the length of the evening. |
| Teaching | Joanna teaches the songs line by line, in parts. | Tim leads the phrase; the room follows or listens. |
| Cadence | Weekly, in blocks. | Once a month, third Friday. |
| Best if you | Want to learn songs and sing them with others. | Want to be carried by sound rather than to learn it. |
Some regulars come to both. They meet different appetites.
What the evidence says
Research and clinical literature
Group singing has a substantial evidence base for mood, breath, cognition, and social connection.
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Group singing is associated with clinically meaningful reductions in cortisol and improvements in mood and perceived wellbeing across multiple studies, including in bereaved and isolated populations.
Public Health · Fancourt et al. · 2016
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Regular choir participation improves respiratory function and heart-rate variability, with measurable training effects on breath capacity.
Frontiers in Psychology · reviews · 2018
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Group singing interventions reduce loneliness and improve social connectedness in adults across observational and controlled studies.
Arts & Health · Clift et al. · 2017
Questions people ask
Before you book
I cannot sing. Really. +
Do I need to read music? +
How often does the group meet? +
Do I have to commit to a whole block? +
What if I miss a session? +
What do I need to bring? +
Can I bring a friend? +
Book
Book Top of the World Singers
Booking runs on Acuity, direct link below. If you are not sure whether top of the world singers is the right fit, reach out and we will help you find the right first door into the sanctuary.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call Joe on 07986 380327 · Joe will get back to you within 24 hours.